I did not see most of the game tonight because of work, but I saw a news highlight on NBC 5 News after the game of an ATA commercial jet buzzing USCF tonight. They aired Hawk & DJ saying it's the closest they've ever seen a commercial jet come to the ballpark. Allison Rosati noted that the plane was within FAA parameters when it flew by.

batmanZoSo

04-29-2004, 11:23 PM

Originally posted by Viva Magglio
I did not see most of the game tonight because of work, but I saw a news highlight on NBC 5 News after the game of an ATA commercial jet buzzing USCF tonight. They aired Hawk & DJ saying it's the closest they've ever seen a commercial jet come to the ballpark. Allison Rosati noted that the plane was within FAA parameters when it flew by.

I thought Hawk overreacted and I'm not surprised it was within FAA bounds. Maybe it looked different at the park (if anyone was there?), but on TV it didn't look low enough to be a scare.

soltrain21

04-29-2004, 11:25 PM

Originally posted by batmanZoSo
I thought Hawk overreacted and I'm not surprised it was within FAA bounds. Maybe it looked different at the park (if anyone was there?), but on TV it didn't look low enough to be a scare.

I don't know man, it was pretty low. I heard it on the broadcast too. Atleast I think I did...

Shoeless Joe

04-29-2004, 11:33 PM

From the T.V. telecast it did look low as heck. Unless you're by an airport planes really can't be seen so close. I'm sure it must have made a couple of people in attendance a little jumpy.

batmanZoSo

04-29-2004, 11:33 PM

Originally posted by soltrain21
I don't know man, it was pretty low. I heard it on the broadcast too. Atleast I think I did...

Well, I've driven down Cicero and 55th a good deal, so maybe my expectations are high. :smile:

HawkDJ

04-29-2004, 11:35 PM

I flew over the Cell last weekend on my way to New York (a very cool experience by the way) and we were waaay up there. Not even close to how low that plane was. That shouldn't have happened.

Daver

04-29-2004, 11:39 PM

Originally posted by HawkDJ
I flew over the Cell last weekend on my way to New York (a very cool experience by the way) and we were waaay up there. Not even close to how low that plane was. That shouldn't have happened.

Midway's ceiling in bad weather is 3,000 feet when you are circling for landing clearance.

HawkDJ

04-29-2004, 11:40 PM

That would make sense. Thanks Daver.

dickallen15

04-29-2004, 11:49 PM

I was there, and that plane looked like it was going to crash into the upper deck.

HomeFish

04-30-2004, 12:20 AM

There were about three today that seemed really low.

CHISOXFAN13

04-30-2004, 12:47 AM

I couldn't believe how close that thing got. I admit I was a little frightened for a split second.

By far the closest I've seen a plane come to hitting the park.

cheeses_h_rice

04-30-2004, 01:02 AM

ATA is one of my department's clients. I'll ask around tomorrow to see if these low flights attracted anyone else's attention...

Vsahajpal

04-30-2004, 01:30 AM

Could you also ask them to get rid of that stupid jingle?

nasox

04-30-2004, 01:38 AM

Was it really that scary? I didn't see it on TV (must have been getting something) so I don't know how close it was. People in attendance must have had their hearts skip a beat. :shudder:

danjames

04-30-2004, 01:52 AM

I was in attendance tonight, down the first base line, and it WAS very bizzarre. The plane appeared to be just above the lights from my angle, so I don't know how close it looked on tv but it did cause a lot of people to skip a beat. We were all pretty surprised. Very glad nothing came of it though.

blueeyes33

04-30-2004, 02:13 AM

dont worry, bin laden is hated by the media as well, so he sympathizes (spelling?) with us im sure! he would more likely aim up north...more sin that a way!

soltrain21

04-30-2004, 02:14 AM

Originally posted by blueeyes33
dont worry, bin laden is hated by the media as well, so he sympathizes (spelling?) with us im sure! he would more likely aim up north...more sin that a way!

I would laugh....if that was funny

batmanZoSo

04-30-2004, 02:22 AM

Originally posted by soltrain21
I would laugh....if that was funny

Lighten up.

mweflen

04-30-2004, 04:28 AM

I've often wondered about the possibility of terrorist activity at baseball games.

Or rather, I've been forced to wonder by the Cell's new Draconian no-backpack policy. I mean, come on. We live in one of the coldest, wettest baseball cities in America. I need a bag to carry a coat, umbrella, and blankets! (I've used the blanket twice with my girlfriend this year so far)

Anyway, I think about it, and then I realize...

If I were a terrorist, and I wanted to use a baseball game as a terror act, wouldn't I want to hit a more heavily attended park, one jammed to the gills with drunken yuppies exhibiting the worst traits of conspicuous consumption?

I think we all know which park would be the target in Chicago.

SSN721

04-30-2004, 06:56 AM

Yeah, my friend and I noticed how close that plane was. Its hard to judge distance but it sure seemed like that jet couldnt' have been more than 2-300 feet over the upper deck. It looked pretty damn close.

gosox41

04-30-2004, 07:07 AM

Originally posted by batmanZoSo
I thought Hawk overreacted and I'm not surprised it was within FAA bounds. Maybe it looked different at the park (if anyone was there?), but on TV it didn't look low enough to be a scare.

It was really close. I was sitting on the third base side when the first one came in and it looked like it was going to come right into us because the plane looked like it was descending.

Bob

white sox bill

04-30-2004, 07:15 AM

Originally posted by mweflen
I've often wondered about the possibility of terrorist activity at baseball games.

Or rather, I've been forced to wonder by the Cell's new Draconian no-backpack policy. I mean, come on. We live in one of the coldest, wettest baseball cities in America. I need a bag to carry a coat, umbrella, and blankets! (I've used the blanket twice with my girlfriend this year so far)

Anyway, I think about it, and then I realize...

If I were a terrorist, and I wanted to use a baseball game as a terror act, wouldn't I want to hit a more heavily attended park, one jammed to the gills with drunken yuppies exhibiting the worst traits of conspicuous consumption?

I think we all know which park would be the target in Chicago.

In light of this, I'm changing sig line.....several posters have been offended...of course I am joking. My next post will be my NEW signature.

white sox bill

04-30-2004, 07:19 AM

Opps! Damn I did it again!! Gotta change that!

HomeFish

04-30-2004, 08:08 AM

Originally posted by mweflen

Or rather, I've been forced to wonder by the Cell's new Draconian no-backpack policy.

What no-backpack policy? I carried a backpack into yesterday's game.

doublem23

04-30-2004, 08:11 AM

Originally posted by batmanZoSo
Well, I've driven down Cicero and 55th a good deal, so maybe my expectations are high. :smile:

Ha ha... I was sitting at the corner of 63rd and Cicero once and a plane took off. Scared the **** out of me. I live right underneath a landing pattern for O'Hare, so I see them and hear them all the time, but they're always at least a couple hundred feet up. This thing was 20 feet above my car.

Railsplitter

04-30-2004, 08:48 AM

Originally posted by mweflen
I've often wondered about the possibility of terrorist activity at baseball games.

Or rather, I've been forced to wonder by the Cell's new Draconian no-backpack policy. I mean, come on. We live in one of the coldest, wettest baseball cities in America. I need a bag to carry a coat, umbrella, and blankets! (I've used the blanket twice with my girlfriend this year so far)

Anyway, I think about it, and then I realize...

If I were a terrorist, and I wanted to use a baseball game as a terror act, wouldn't I want to hit a more heavily attended park, one jammed to the gills with drunken yuppies exhibiting the worst traits of conspicuous consumption?

I think we all know which park would be the target in Chicago.

If terrorist want to take out a ball park, they'd probably ram a truck full of explosives through the main entrance, to kill as many people as possible.

Cellview22

04-30-2004, 08:57 AM

I actually had a dream about this last night.. and it wasn't pleasant..

It was creepy when they showed the plane up close; it looked like it was tilting, and you could see every detail on the plane. When I was at Sunday's game, I heard a loud roar from above and looked up to see a jet flying really low over the stadium. I was surprised at how low it was, and I even told some friends about it when I got home. And the one last night was a hell of a lot closer.

fado

04-30-2004, 09:04 AM

I live in Printer's Row nowadays (I miss Bridgeport) and I have a view of the Cell from my windows. When I heard Hawk say something about a plane I looked out the window and that thing looked like it was aiming for the UD. Kinda weird. But that thing was really low.

blueeyes33

04-30-2004, 09:32 AM

i know you dont miss all of us living over here in the 11th.haha

plus your close enough to come get whatever else it is that you can bring back to the lavish south loop.

you got the best of both worlds!!

Viva Magglio

04-30-2004, 09:53 AM

Originally posted by HomeFish
There were about three today that seemed really low.

Since ATA is a Sox sponsor, I wonder if it was a promotional stunt to have three real ATA planes race by the ballpark.

leon1973

04-30-2004, 09:54 AM

This is my first post -- just discovered this site yesterday. I love seeing views from fellow Sox fans.

Anyway -- I just want to say that I was at the game yesterday and I'm sure everybody in attendance would agree that it was uncomfortably low. Even distracted me from my dollar dog.

FoulkeFan

04-30-2004, 09:56 AM

I was at the game as well. There were actually a couple of planes that seemed to fly pretty low. We were talking about it at the time - maybe the bad weather had too many planes circling the area waiting to land? That was the best theory that we came up with!

Brian26

04-30-2004, 10:02 AM

If the plane was indeed that low (I wasn't at the game last night), someone should investigate what was going on. There's no reason for an airplane to be flying so low right over the ballpark.

Originally posted by FoulkeFan
I was at the game as well. There were actually a couple of planes that seemed to fly pretty low. We were talking about it at the time - maybe the bad weather had too many planes circling the area waiting to land? That was the best theory that we came up with!

I had to work at my "other office" yesterday and I had a good view of the skies above Midway, and there WERE many planes circling around very low all day yesterday for what it's worth!

soltrain21

04-30-2004, 11:12 AM

Originally posted by batmanZoSo
Lighten up.

Ok, I will lighten up about a bunch of people dying because of Terrorists, I mean why would I take something so serious in the first place? Silly me.

IlliniSox

04-30-2004, 11:25 AM

Apparently, we're the only people making a deal about the flyover. I was looking for some explanation from ATA, but there's no mention of it in any paper that I've found so far.

raul12

04-30-2004, 11:45 AM

Originally posted by IlliniSox
Apparently, we're the only people making a deal about the flyover. I was looking for some explanation from ATA, but there's no mention of it in any paper that I've found so far.

I haven't seen the video and I wasn't there, but I do know that distances can be very deceptive, especially when trying to judge how far a big object is against a infinite backdrop (the upper deck ). That being said, a plane flying within even 1000 feet of a ball park is unacceptable, especially post 9-11.

With the weather as variable as it was last night, the planes may have been flying low to avoid turbulence. Re: planes circling--I always thought that planes were ordered to circle much earlier in the decent process....at least that's been my experience.

batmanZoSo

04-30-2004, 12:12 PM

Originally posted by gosox41
It was really close. I was sitting on the third base side when the first one came in and it looked like it was going to come right into us because the plane looked like it was descending.

Bob

I'll take your word for it. It's just that on tv, it looked like it was way up there. I guess cameras make everything look a lot farther away than they are. The first time I went to a game when I was a kid I couldn't believe how small the field looked in person. I still kinda get that when I go.

white sox bill

04-30-2004, 12:14 PM

:reinsy

"Hell, charge all them including the flight crew for a upper deck ticket"

white sox bill

04-30-2004, 12:19 PM

:moron

"And how 'bout attendance at the Cell? A plane flies overhead and attendance doubles for the night.."

Hangar18

04-30-2004, 12:21 PM

I was at the game last nite, and that freaked me out how CLOSE that plane was .......... I could practically see the people on the plane ......... that was Bizarre

joecrede

04-30-2004, 12:21 PM

Funny line from a new Sox blog:

An ATA plane buzzed The Cell near straight-away center tonight. It looked about as low as the highest reaches of the old upper deck. If it buzzed Wrigley like that during a game the Tribune Co. would be in court tomorrow demanding 20% of ATA’s profits.

35th Street Mess (http://35thstreetmess.blogspot.com/)

(Gotta love the name too.)

IlliniSox

04-30-2004, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by white sox bill
:moron

"And how 'bout attendance at the Cell? A plane flies overhead and attendance doubles for the night.."

Hah! Good one, way to beat him to it.

Jeremy

04-30-2004, 12:56 PM

I work at Midway guys, I'll ask some of the ATA people there if they saw that on TV and if they have an explanation. Most likely there were so many planes circling below the cloud level, waiting to land.

Like that other poster said, I'm so used to it as well, if it's not 40 feet over my head, shaking the ground, and making car alarms go off in the parking lot, then it's not nearly low enough. hahaha.

nasox

04-30-2004, 01:03 PM

Originally posted by IlliniSox
Apparently, we're the only people making a deal about the flyover. I was looking for some explanation from ATA, but there's no mention of it in any paper that I've found so far.

It was in the Cubune but I can't find it at the site online so idunno

Clembasbal

04-30-2004, 01:03 PM

I live at 67th and Cicero, so I can seriously throw a baseball in the air and hit a plane...no biggie. I do understand the post 9-11 crap some of ya'll are talking about.

But I do have to say that whenever there is bad weather, rain, low lying clouds, wind, snow, etc...Midway uses a different runway and makes the planes do their 90 or 180 late in their path...and I can see that it would go right over The Cell because they usually come from the Southeast so the 90/180 would cause them to come from the Northeast and right over where most of you were last night.

Peace...(WESTLAWN RULES) :gulp:

PaleHoseGeorge

04-30-2004, 01:17 PM

Originally posted by Clembasbal
I live at 67th and Cicero, so I can seriously throw a baseball in the air and hit a plane...no biggie. I do understand the post 9-11 crap some of ya'll are talking about.

But I do have to say that whenever there is bad weather, rain, low lying clouds, wind, snow, etc...Midway uses a different runway and makes the planes do their 90 or 180 late in their path...and I can see that it would go right over The Cell because they usually come from the Southeast so the 90/180 would cause them to come from the Northeast and right over where most of you were last night.

That's exactly right. You can't approach Midway from the north because of O'hare's air space. So instead the pilots must do a hard banked turn to the left above the Cell and head back towards Midway from the northeast.

It's very disconcerting for passengers because you're heading straight towards the downtown skyscrapers, then banking downwards looking at the buildings that keep getting bigger and bigger out your window as you make your final approach. Of course Midway's runways are short so the landings are inevitably rougher than what you expect from other flights. It's a little nerve wracking for even experienced flyers and far worse on days like yesterday with cloud cover and limited visibility.

It's easy to figure out who on the plane has never landed at Midway before. :smile:

AOEllis

04-30-2004, 01:30 PM

What inning did the plane flyover? I would like to see it on the MLBtv video.

white sox bill

04-30-2004, 01:31 PM

Anyone ever land @ Reagen National in downtown DC? Its downtown and to land you have to drop about 10,000 feet in about 1 minute to avoid the buildings. Hard on the stomach

pearso66

04-30-2004, 03:57 PM

I wasn't at the game yesterady, but I remember the first football game at Michigan State following the 9/11 fiasco, there was a jet that flew very low over the field. I heard the pilots got into big trouble for that one. Everyone in the stadium turned white for a few minutes.

Hokiesox

04-30-2004, 05:00 PM

Originally posted by white sox bill
Anyone ever land @ Reagen National in downtown DC? Its downtown and to land you have to drop about 10,000 feet in about 1 minute to avoid the buildings. Hard on the stomach

Not only that, but the corridor they have to land in is about as wide as the plane. So they have to go right over the potomac. It's the back and forth that sucks there. Left, right, left, right, left...BOOM! and, yeah, you drop about 300 feet in 5 seconds.

So much restricted airspace in this town.

Foulke You

04-30-2004, 07:27 PM

Originally posted by Vsahajpal
Could you also ask them to get rid of that stupid jingle?

Amen brother! I am so freakin' sick of that ATA song. There is no escaping it either as it plays on both TV and radio.

batmanZoSo

04-30-2004, 07:36 PM

Originally posted by Foulke You
Amen brother! I am so freakin' sick of that ATA song. There is no escaping it either as it plays on both TV and radio.

That's true. I hear it on both every day. I even find myself singing it around the house unknowingly. But you can't blame ATA. A memorable jingle is so effective as evidenced by the fact that we bring it up in the forums and in the chat room.

joeynach

04-30-2004, 07:46 PM

We studied these approaches in a transportation engineering class i took. Midway does have restricted approaches. Planes enter midway approach from either the southwest or southeast. There is a vor in chicago heights and one out southwest of orland area somewhere. Anyway after they hit this two beacons they can take on two vectors and either heard from runway 4R, landing from the soutwest, or runway 13 C, coming from the southeast. The reason these planes were flying over the cell so low was becuase of the change in wind direction. Normally the runway 22L, opposite side of 4R, is only used for depatures which throws planes right over oak lawn and out. But since the wind was out of the soutwest, or Right to Left at the cell, the plane needed to apporach from the northeast so they could land into the wind. This means the landing runway was 22L and this glide path would be from the northeast, over the skyscrapers and large population base, as well as part of ohares airspace. Therefore since this is heavily restriced the planes must decend as if they were going to land from the southeast on runway 13C then jet off from the glidepath at a certain altitued and head due north to intercept a very short approach into runway 22L. THey must make a very shap turn to the left, apparently right over the cell, to head towards the runway, heading southwest. However im sure the computers were controlling the paths of these planes, autopilots are used extensivly. So i doubt there is any risk.

whitesoxwilkes

04-30-2004, 08:10 PM

Originally posted by Hokiesox
Not only that, but the corridor they have to land in is about as wide as the plane. So they have to go right over the potomac. It's the back and forth that sucks there. Left, right, left, right, left...BOOM! and, yeah, you drop about 300 feet in 5 seconds.

So much restricted airspace in this town.

Off topic here, but...I think that last approach into DCA is one of the coolest things ever.

Jeremy

05-01-2004, 01:24 AM

Originally posted by joeynach
We studied these approaches in a transportation engineering class i took. Midway does have restricted approaches. Planes enter midway approach from either the southwest or southeast. There is a vor in chicago heights and one out southwest of orland area somewhere. Anyway after they hit this two beacons they can take on two vectors and either heard from runway 4R, landing from the soutwest, or runway 13 C, coming from the southeast. The reason these planes were flying over the cell so low was becuase of the change in wind direction. Normally the runway 22L, opposite side of 4R, is only used for depatures which throws planes right over oak lawn and out. But since the wind was out of the soutwest, or Right to Left at the cell, the plane needed to apporach from the northeast so they could land into the wind. This means the landing runway was 22L and this glide path would be from the northeast, over the skyscrapers and large population base, as well as part of ohares airspace. Therefore since this is heavily restriced the planes must decend as if they were going to land from the southeast on runway 13C then jet off from the glidepath at a certain altitued and head due north to intercept a very short approach into runway 22L. THey must make a very shap turn to the left, apparently right over the cell, to head towards the runway, heading southwest. However im sure the computers were controlling the paths of these planes, autopilots are used extensivly. So i doubt there is any risk.

I see planes land all the time from the NE and NW...

PaleHoseGeorge

05-01-2004, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by Jeremy
I see planes land all the time from the NE and NW...

Yes, and every single one of those planes you saw was flying into Midway on a bizarre bending approach because they must avoid the Loop skyscrapers to the northeast and O'hare airspace to the northwest. That airport was never intended to deal with these obstacles, and they can't be fixed. Maybe Rich Daley's median planters will turn around the city's economy.

Do you know where planes landing in St. Louis Lambert Field make their final turn? Over Illinois, twenty miles east of the runway. And Chicago's Nero merely fiddles away...

Expect plenty more airplanes flying low over the Cell during evenings with low visibility. It won't be changing anytime soon.

joeynach

05-01-2004, 12:41 PM

Originally posted by PaleHoseGeorge
Yes, and every single one of those planes you saw was flying into Midway on a bizarre bending approach because they must avoid the Loop skyscrapers to the northeast and O'hare airspace to the northwest. That airport was never intended to deal with these obstacles, and they can't be fixed. Maybe Rich Daley's median planters will turn around the city's economy.

Do you know where planes landing in St. Louis Lambert Field make their final turn? Over Illinois, twenty miles east of the runway. And Chicago's Nero merely fiddles away...

Expect plenty more airplanes flying low over the Cell during evenings with low visibility. It won't be changing anytime soon.

I dont think its a matter of why are they flying low its a matter of public saftey in the post 9/11 era. I think the point is we would like the managment to make a warning or note of this situation to those in the upper deck. Saying sometimes on bad weather nights planes fly very low over the stadium on approach to midway. Being notoified of this by the team would limit people from thinking something is wrong and that this is normal.

dickallen15

05-01-2004, 12:50 PM

I suspect this was a one time occurrance. I was at the park when this plane came by. Many came by that night , but not one was even close to the low level that ATA 757 was at. In fact, I have been going to the park since it opened, and that was by far the closest I have ever seen a plane from either park. I suspect that it was far lower than the 3,000 ft. requirement, regardless of what may be reported.

stockonline2

05-01-2004, 02:05 PM

I was at the game and the plane was very low and i mentioned it to a friend, but it was not that low. It was the closest i have seen so far though.

ode to veeck

05-01-2004, 03:30 PM

This is my first post -- just discovered this site yesterday. I love seeing views from fellow Sox fans.

Welcome to WSI!

joeynach

05-01-2004, 07:42 PM

Originally posted by dickallen15
I suspect this was a one time occurrance. I was at the park when this plane came by. Many came by that night , but not one was even close to the low level that ATA 757 was at. In fact, I have been going to the park since it opened, and that was by far the closest I have ever seen a plane from either park. I suspect that it was far lower than the 3,000 ft. requirement, regardless of what may be reported.

Take a look at this, its the approach map for runway 22L at midway. Take a close look at the profile approach it shows what altitudes the planes should be at when they are at certain nautical mile distance out from the runway. The pic shows an approach starting way out over the lake and passing the entire downtown area, but we all know this is restricted now and approach is a lot shorter with a steep left handed turn.

http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0404/00081VDRG22L.PDF

PaleHoseGeorge

05-01-2004, 08:02 PM

Just for the record, planes landing from the northeast at Midway have been forced to do this crazy manuever for many years before 9/11. It is *O'hare airspace* that must be avoided, and the Loop has always been off limits to Midway's air traffic.

Again, Midway was never designed to deal with these sorts of obstacles, and they can't be fixed. It's lack of *air space* above Chicago that causes this problem -- and the mayor refuses to acknowledge it.

dpbyron

05-02-2004, 07:38 PM

Good explanation on CBS 2 by Jim Tillman. He interviews Hawk about the incident.

Click on "Plane Flying Low Over U.S. Cellular Field Startles Fans" for the video.

He says the plane was only 700 feet above the Cell. That is very scary.

Hangar18

05-02-2004, 07:56 PM

Maybe the SOX and ATA are taking the Plane Races literally :smile:

Whitesox029

05-02-2004, 08:27 PM

Originally posted by Shoeless Joe
From the T.V. telecast it did look low as heck. Unless you're by an airport planes really can't be seen so close. I'm sure it must have made a couple of people in attendance a little jumpy.
Or if you happen to be watching a U2 music video.....shouldn't this thread be in the Parking Lot out of curiosity? ('m just trying to practice my thread-placement-judgment)

chidonez

05-02-2004, 08:29 PM

Originally posted by dpbyron
Good explanation on CBS 2 by Jim Tillman. He interviews Hawk about the incident.

Click on "Plane Flying Low Over U.S. Cellular Field Startles Fans" for the video.

He says the plane was only 700 feet above the Cell. That is very scary.

Okay, but the top of the cell is 2300 feet high, which would make it legal. Just kidding!

Jeremy

05-03-2004, 01:31 AM

Originally posted by dpbyron
Good explanation on CBS 2 by Jim Tillman. He interviews Hawk about the incident.

Click on "Plane Flying Low Over U.S. Cellular Field Startles Fans" for the video.

He says the plane was only 700 feet above the Cell. That is very scary.

LOL!!!!!!!

Hawk said "I'll kiss your a$$ if it was 1,400 feet above the ball park"